How do you make an Orange?
How do you make an orange? When I ask business owners and sales professionals that question I get a lot of different responses: “I buy them at the store.” “I pick them off a tree.” “I start with a seed.”

“So what you are telling me” I reply “is that you have no idea how to make an orange.”
[Click here] to find out how to make an orange

Will you be an economic HERO?
Lately there has been a lot of talk about the global economic crisis. In fact, it seems to be all anyone is talking about. I hope you are ready to do something about it, because this article and the five to follow are a call to action for sales professionals regardless of industry.

It’s my firm belief that the salespeople of the world hold the solution to the current economic situation in their hands.
[Click here] to find out what the economy needs

Why HEROs are humble?
After reading my August column, “Will you be an economic HERO?” several people have asked me why I include being humble as a factor in being a HERO salesperson. After all, humility isn’t normally a quality we associate with salespeople. On the contrary, many salespeople would consider humility to be a weakness in their sales efforts
[Click here] to find out why HEROs are humble

The ethical salesperson
After all, there’s no such thing as an ethical salesperson, right? Strange as it might sound, I want to assure you that there are, in fact, a lot of ethical salespeople out there.
[Click here] to find out what it means to be an ethical salesperson

The responsible salesperson
What does it mean to be responsible as a salesperson? Well, while being ethical means doing the right thing in a moral sense, being responsible means doing thing the right way. It starts with following through on the commitments you make to your prospects and customers, and it’s an integral part of every future interaction you have with them.
[Click here] to find out what it means to be a responsible salesperson

The optimistic salesperson
There is some confusion about what exactly it means to be an optimist. Some associate the quality with Pollyanna-like belief that the sun is always shining and nothing bad ever happens. That’s not optimism, though, not really. That’s more like childish innocence. As adults we, know that sometimes it does rain and sometime bad things do happen.
[Click here] to find out what it means to be an optimistic salesperson

Loving the sound of "NO"
Here’s something to ponder. I think a successful sales career is based less on ability to get people to say yes and more on the ability to get them to tell you no, faster  and more often. Unless you want to be the kind of manipulative salesperson that everyone loves to hate, you can’t really get someone else to say yes to you.
[Click here] to learn why it may be better to hear “NO”

"No" really means "not now"
How can you get comfortable with hearing NO? First and most important, you must master the proper mindset. Why? Developing the right mindset helps you handle the inevitable rejection involved in selling for a living. For example, have you ever wondered how great salespeople can get rejected all day long and get up the next day to do it all over again?
[Click here] to learn what “no” really means

Getting to “NO” even faster
For this issue, let’s talk about one of the best ways to get to “no” faster and more often: Talking to more people. No Kidding, right? In fact, I could end this article right here. After all, you don’t need four or five more paragraphs to help you understand that if you want to hear “no” more often, the easiest way to accomplish it is to see more prospects.
[Click here] to find out how to get to “no” faster

Stating your intentions
I need to clarify something: When I say that you should get to “no” as quickly as possible, what I’m talking about is the early stages of the sales process, specifically when it comes to prospecting and qualifying. In the latter half of the process you’re definitely looking for “yes” and if you apply the principles we’ve discussed before to getting more “nos” early on, you’ll be more likely to succeed when it comes time to ask for a “yes.”
[Click here] to learn how to avoid the dread of “maybe”

Tell me a story
I have some bad news for exhibitors – nobody cares about your new products as much as you do. I know that probably come as a bit of a shock. After all, these companies spend hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars researching, developing, and testing their new products. They may be preparing to spend millions more on marketing it to the public. It’s sad, I know, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t care.
[Click here] if you want to know how to change that

Asking better questions
Why should you ask questions to begin with? First, lose the illusion that qualifying questions help you close sales. Not so. Qualifying questions are meant to help you sift the wheat (potential buyers) from the chaff (friendly people who have trouble saying no and want to keep you in the maybe loop. Asking great questions helps prospects self-select so that you can find the ones who really want to work with you. 
[Click here] for some simple questions to ask to see if it makes sense to continue the conversation

Know when to say “NO”
Sometimes you have to say no because the prospect refuses to do it for you. You asked all the right questions. It’s obvious to you that your offering doesn’t align with the values and goals your prospect identified as important to them. And yet here the prospect is, asking you for a formal proposal so they can look it over and get back to you. You know in your heart that it’s just a stall tactic to try to dodge a sale that you aren’t even trying to make.
[Click here] to know when to say “no”